This week I thought I'd talk about lifted increases.
This is one of the only set of paired increases that can be put next to each other without leaving a hole, which makes them useful in a number of situations, including gussets. (This is the increase used in the Sheepy Pants gusset, for example.)
I've seen this increase called a great many different names. In my patterns I have called them KLL and KRL (Knit Left Loop and Knit Right Loop) which seemed to be the most common terminology at the time. Techknitter calls the right leaning version the very nearly invisible increase. Cat Bordhi calls them LLinc and LRinc (pronounced La-Link and La-Rink). Lately I am seeing mostly LLI and RLI (for Left Lifted Increase and Right Lifted Increase), which seems like a more descriptive term and one that I might adopt going forward.
At any rate, they do make excellent and nearly invisible increases when done on their own. When worked several times in a row they make for a nice smooth edge.